food, drinkDarcie DuttweilerSeptember 20, 2018happy hour, downtown austin, fixeComment

Happy Hours I Love: Fixe

food, drinkDarcie DuttweilerSeptember 20, 2018happy hour, downtown austin, fixeComment

Disclaimer: Meal was provided.

Man, I love when summer turns into fall. While it means PSL to some, to me it means cooler weather and autumnal cocktails. One of my favorite whiskey cocktails in town is the Honey Badger at Fixe, which is made with barrel-aged Old Forester, honey comb, and lemon. It’s super simple but extremely tasty, and it feels like fall in a glass. The best part is that it’s only $7 for this boozy sipper during Fixe’s incredible happy hour! And, that’s only one tasty thing available on the happy hour menu, which runs from 4:30-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. to close.

In addition to the $7 cocktail list, Fixe also offers four wines by the glass for $9, snacks for $8, and plates for $10. At my most recent visit to Fixe, after my Honey Badger I switched to the Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir, which was so velvety and simply divine. I was shocked when I saw it was selling at Total Wine & More for $50 for a bottle because that means $9 per glass is an INCREDIBLE DEAL. Seriously—how are they even making money on it?!

While everything on the happy hour is worth a try, this time I steered towards the new fall dishes, including the pimento cheese with pickled green tomato and beef fat focaccia bread, as well as the tuna tartare with pumpkin seed, butternut squash, cornbread, and garlic cream. The waitress told me that the servers loved the pimento cheese so much last fall, which came fried green tomatoes, that they begged the chefs to put it back on the menu this season. It was creamy and tangy, and I honestly could have eaten the pickled tomato with a spoon. I do wish there had been slightly more of it, though! (Oh, and that beef fat bread? Get outta here!)

The tuna tartare was definitely more delicate, and the chunks of butternut squash gave a nice bite to the dish. It’s a great plate for those trying to eat something brighter and fresher.

While not on the happy hour menu, Fixe’s biscuits are worth ordering if you’ve never had them. They are, perhaps, one of the best biscuits in the entire city—if not THE best biscuit. They come with salty butter, but definitely make sure to ask for local honey too. At $9 for three biscuits, you can afford to splurge a little during your happy hour, no?!

And, at $10 during happy hour, you simply cannot go wrong with the Fixe burger. It comes loaded with pickles, cheese, onions, and Fixe’s special sauce (which is pretty mustard-y, FYI), and a HEAPING of yummy French fries.